Have you ever left RCCL for another line?

[John&LaLa]

Makes sense, I think they set up the fudge factor to handle those that were one credit from a new level.

 

I agree, we were at 8 as well and I think they gave us 66 points so two 1 week cruises would make us Diamond. No Emerald back then

[Emilycat]

I have cruised on different lines as you can read below. The cruises on all of them were very enjoyable. I would have to say that the itinerary is more important than the ship itself. I enjoy going to the US ports where you can go where you want without having to be hassled like in Nassau and Freeport. I have been to almost all of the Caribbean islands and loved seeing all of them, but really loved Alaska, Charleston, Port Canaveral, Key West and the cruise lines private islands.

[Artemis908]

I've tried other cruise lines and I always come back to RCI because it has what I am looking for in a cruise line, at the right price. I gotta say Disney is a close second for me. But they don't have many ships, don't have a variety of ports, and they are a bit expensive.

[tidygirl]

Mostly a Royal fan but have tried NCL (not bad IMO) and Carnival a few times (our least favorite)- we thought the buffet food choice were very limited at supper time. We enjoy watching the evening shows, and some may think I'm crazy but I don't find shows to be family friendly when the show girls are wearing thongs! (That's what I would think was in Vegas) After checking specifically on our 1 cruise that the girls didn't wear that kind of outfit. I had told my sister that it was a "safe show for her 6 yr old boy" well out comes the girls 1st thing wearing thongs! Needless to say we got up and left the show very unhappy!

I have not tried some of the other cruises line as they don't have things like mini-golf, flow-rider, rockwall etc. and seem to cater to the older people. Not saying we are real young, but we act like it!

When picking a cruise I check with RCI but unless they add some new Caribbean ports we may have to jump ship as we travel for the ports not just the ship! We consider it our moving hotel!

[nekzaadvakil]

We love Royal Caribbean, especially its larger ships (Voyager class onwards), but we tried Celebrity 2 years ago and absolutely loved it.

 

The food was definitely better on Celebrity. We love the Mast Grill which serves 3 kinds of fresh burgers which beats the finger food you get on the Royal Promenade. The Buffet too on Celebrity is better than that on Royal.

 

The S class ships are around the same size of the Voyager class ships so we never felt that the ship was not big enough to accommodate all the things we loved on Royal.

 

We also feel that Celebrity has itineraries that suit us better, especially the European ones.

 

The only issue is the current prices that both Celebrity and Royal are charging. We've usually cruised in June which is peak season in Europe and we've never paid these kind of prices that are currently on.

[trev71]

No I have not been Loyal to Royal. But i cant say I will never try another cruise line though.

[trev71]

No I have not been Loyal to Royal. But i cant say I will never try another cruise line though.

 

 

I should say I am always loyal to Royal, But I cant say I will never try another cruise line in the future .

 

 

Somedays I just cant type :rolleyes:

[MichaelCMTX]

The whole story. My folks have been our Cruise Guides and after trying just about everyone they decided to cast their lot with Celebrity back in the 1990s. Among the pieces of advice given (“always get the insurance” among others) is the value of trying to remain with a single line to accumulate points, perks, etc. If you plan to keep cruising this will be a factor. When the time came for us to book a cruise we were paying for—the first on Celebrity was a Christmas Gift from my folks—“Who is sailing within driving distance” was a consideration. At the time that basically meant RCL or Carnival out of Galveston, or maybe NCL if we wanted to drive to New Orleans though the folks weren’t really NCL fans. Of those options we went with RCL. Had Princess been a consideration at the time it might be different.

 

And OK, as someone who is familiar with Iggy Pop’s song “Lust for Life” and knew the lyrics, I was partial to the Cruise Line daring enough to use that one in their ads.

 

The plus of this is thanks to careful planning and trips in suites, basically 2 weeks from now we’ll be Diamond status. I have no major complaints about our experiences, and as far as the minor ones go I’m in a Customer Service line of business so I keep a more open mind than some in the “THIS LINE/ ELEVATOR/ BARTENDER IS SLOW? MY VACATION IS RUINED!!!!!” crowd.

 

I admit the convenience of the Galveston port comes with the disadvantage of a lack of variety in itineraries. We’ve snuck a few peeks at what’s available on the West Coast from competitors and as you can see in the signature the Mardi Gras cruise Celebrity is offering certainly caught our eye, along with the 1,2,3 deal they offer plus the Diamond = Elite recognition they give.

 

One thing I’ve seen come up is how folks on one hand criticize the “similarity” between the RCL ships, and how décor, venue naming, procedures and many of the touches seem not at all changed from ship to ship. However, judging from the vicious reaction when significant changes have come on the Quantum I’m not sure I blame RCL too much for keeping things with a family resemblance elsewhere.

[chrisaf]

Yes - We left several years ago to try NCL and haven't been back. NCL's suite perks are so much better in addition to your own dedicated concierge and butler in addition to your stateroom attendant. Also, the fact that NCL is affiliated with Caesars Entertainment and our Vegas play gets us comped with NCL. Free drinks in the casino is a great perk also!

[sr4mjc]

We made Diamond on Royal and are trying Celebrity for South America, Around The Horn. I don't want to sail a Vision class ship down there, for that long. And we'll at least get the Elite perks, the free laundry will be helpful.

Edited January 13, 2015 by sr4mjc

[cruzsnooze]

I am a brand-loyal cruiser with RCCL. Not for any particular reason at first and then I just stuck with what I know. I'm always pretty happy with everything they do, but during my last cruise I started thinking about seeing what the other lines had to offer.

 

If I had to find a complaint with RCCL it would be the food. And of course I'm speaking about quality, not quantity. But I read about food complaints a lot across many lines so maybe it's a cruise thing and not an RCCL thing.

 

So my question for other past or current loyal RCCL cruisers: Have you ever left Royal? Why? What did you try? Did you come back? Why?

 

A quick note about food: I've seen people get flamed for making negative comments about cruise ship food on these boards. If that is your intention please move on. This isn't a thread about cruise ship food, I am simply providing a baseline for why I might consider switching lines. Thank you.:o

I have sailed on many many different lines and all of them have something to offer. Why limit yourself to one brand when there's so much to be experienced.

[Funw/Sean]

We are a family of 4 with two kids under 12. We were very loyal to Royal and cruised 5 times, the last with Allure of the Seas. We have also cruised Celebrity (our Favorite). Currently, we sail with Carnival. As a family cruiser I highly recommend Carnival as a better value. Traveling without kids absolutely Celebrity.

 

We went on our first Carnival cruise as it was booked via family and we had no choice in selection. It was the Glory and our expectations were minimal at best. We were pleasantly surprised, food, cost, and the people onboard were great. So much so that we cruised the Carnival Breeze, Victory (twice) and Sunshine; all within the eighteen year.

 

The reason why we will not be back on Royal anytime soon is price; I get more value on Carnival. The Allure really turned us off of Royal. It was very big, and due to its size it is now not the classy line it used to be; we found the crowds overwhelming and the people rude and pushy, not to mention the room rate for the Grand Suite that I paid can get me two cruises in a Suite on the Carnival Breeze. The food and entertainment is comparable to for both lines. For Royal if I pay Nordstrom prices I don't want Wal-mart.

 

On Carnival my expectations are managed and far exceeded because I pay Wal-mart prices but am pleasantly surprised at the service, and people I meet. The water slides for my kids are far and above any of the splash pads on Royal.

 

Again, this review if for family cruisers.

[Mrs.Dukes]

I've taken one cruise with Celebrity to Bermuda, and the rest of my cruises have been on Royal. We chose Celebrity for the Bermuda cruise because it was a 7 day itinerary, while the Royal Bermuda cruise was 5 days and the same price. We enjoyed the Celebrity cruise, the food was excellent, but the service we had was mediocre. I would still sail Celebrity again. I tend to book Royal for the price and the familiarity of it, but am considering other lines just to try something different.

[Mangomom77]

Just keep in mind when sailing out of Baltimore that the ship has to be small enough to get under the Bay Bridge.